How to Plan a Family Ski Trip: A Complete Guide
Here, we cover everything from choosing the best resort and budgeting tips to packing essentials and saving on lift tickets and lodging.
Alaska is the last great frontier in American skiing and riding. Wild and never-to-be-tamed peaks beckon those with a thirst for adventure.
Home to 17 of the highest peaks in the United States—including the towering 20,320-foot Mount McKinley located in Denail National Park—over 100,000 glaciers, and 70 potentially active volcanoes, heli-skiing is the major attraction for destination winter visitors. In recent years, a sophisticated winter tourism industry, catering to powder seekers, has evolved from simple beginnings, serving ardent mountaineers and adventurers, to a world-class infrastructure featuring sophisticated helicopters, certified guides and apres ski creature comforts which rival resorts in the lower 48.
There are also seven major traditional, lift-served alpine areas to choose from: Alpenglow, Alyeska, Cleary Summit, Eaglecrest, Hilltop, Moose Mountain, and Mount Aurora Skiland. Mount Aurora offers a unique amenity that few ski areas can match: Aurora Borealis (northern lights) viewing by appointment. For more information this epic skiing, read Ski Experience and Terrain Parks.
Off the slopes, winter visitors can take in the spectacular scenery by snowmobile, dog sled, train or even a charter fishing boat. Despite the state’s reputation for extreme winter temperatures, coastal areas, like the heli-skiing mecca of Valdez, enjoy rather temperate Pacific climate systems, with an average January high temperature of 37.5 degrees F. By March, Valdez’s average high temperature reaches a balmy 44.7 degrees. Needless to say, the snows linger long into the spring on the high peaks, offering some of the best late-season skiing and riding in the world.
Valdez is located four hours east of Anchorage. After you fly into Anchorage International Airport, you can choose to drive through the scenic backcountry, or you can contact the number of heli-ski guides who will fly you from the airport to Valdez in just 35 minutes.
Come to Alaska and see for yourself the skiers and riders who came for one season, and decided to stay a lifetime.
Find unique deals and discounts for your winter vacation in Valdez, Alaska.
Alaska is the last great frontier in American skiing and riding. Wild and never-to-be-tamed peaks beckon those with a thirst for adventure.
Home to 17 of the highest peaks in the United States—including the towering 20,320-foot Mount McKinley located in Denail National Park—over 100,000 glaciers, and 70 potentially active volcanoes, heli-skiing is the major attraction for destination winter visitors. In recent years, a sophisticated winter tourism industry, catering to powder seekers, has evolved from simple beginnings, serving ardent mountaineers and adventurers, to a world-class infrastructure featuring sophisticated helicopters, certified guides and apres ski creature comforts which rival resorts in the lower 48.
There are also seven major traditional, lift-served alpine areas to choose from: Alpenglow, Alyeska, Cleary Summit, Eaglecrest, Hilltop, Moose Mountain, and Mount Aurora Skiland. Mount Aurora offers a unique amenity that few ski areas can match: Aurora Borealis (northern lights) viewing by appointment. For more information this epic skiing, read Ski Experience and Terrain Parks.
Off the slopes, winter visitors can take in the spectacular scenery by snowmobile, dog sled, train or even a charter fishing boat. Despite the state’s reputation for extreme winter temperatures, coastal areas, like the heli-skiing mecca of Valdez, enjoy rather temperate Pacific climate systems, with an average January high temperature of 37.5 degrees F. By March, Valdez’s average high temperature reaches a balmy 44.7 degrees. Needless to say, the snows linger long into the spring on the high peaks, offering some of the best late-season skiing and riding in the world.
Valdez is located four hours east of Anchorage. After you fly into Anchorage International Airport, you can choose to drive through the scenic backcountry, or you can contact the number of heli-ski guides who will fly you from the airport to Valdez in just 35 minutes.
Come to Alaska and see for yourself the skiers and riders who came for one season, and decided to stay a lifetime.
Find unique deals and discounts for your winter vacation in Valdez, Alaska.
Here, we cover everything from choosing the best resort and budgeting tips to packing essentials and saving on lift tickets and lodging.
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